


Sprouting

by tinycecropia



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 04:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12975552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinycecropia/pseuds/tinycecropia
Summary: Chanyeol's got his eye on the boy who works at the campus greenhouse.





	Sprouting

Chanyeol never had any reason to be in the biology and geology building, so it wasn’t really surprising that he was lost. Baekhyun had told him the name of an eatery that was supposed to be on the ground floor. Chanyeol wasn’t quite sure which floor he was on now. He thought he had been following arrow-shaped signs directing him to the place he and Baekhyun were meant to meet at, but they seemed to have switched direction all of the sudden, and Chanyeol had gotten all mixed up; he was in the middle of dialing Baekhyun’s number when his phone screen went black and flashed a low battery sign at him.

This was how he got to be sitting on the floor in the middle of a hallway with his phone plugged into a stray outlet. He leaned his head back against the plain white wall, which looked exactly like every other wall in the building, and sighed. He pushed his wireframe glasses up on his nose. He had his knees bent, arms resting on top, and he tapped his foot impatiently. Maybe Baekhyun was right about not leaving the house with less than ten percent of his battery left.  

A boy turned the corner and walked in Chanyeol’s direction without looking up from his phone. It was no end-of-class rush, but people had been coming and going down the hallway since he set up camp. This boy, though, caught Chanyeol’s attention more than any of the others. He was covered in dirt. 

He was wearing jeans which were cuffed at the ankle, a white T-shirt, a flannel shirt, beat-up running shoes—nothing unusual, aside from the dirt spotted on all of them. What could have happened to him?  Maybe he fell outside, Chanyeol thought, although that would’ve been a hell of a fall. There was another thing about the boy, though, underneath the dirt. He was beautiful.

Chanyeol stared wide-eyed. When the boy passed Chanyeol’s spot on the floor he glanced up, and Chanyeol quickly looked away. Once he was far enough away Chanyeol’s eyes followed him down the hallway. 

Chanyeol’s phone finally lit up. He noticed three missed calls and five distinct “where are you” texts from Baekhyun. He typed out a description of the hallway to the best of his ability— _ there’s a display case with some colourful rocks in it _ —and Baekhyun was able to find him in two minutes.

“Dude, where have you  _ been _ ?”

“You should’ve known I’d get lost in here,” Chanyeol said defensively. “I’m an arts student.”

Chanyeol kept his step in line with Baekhyun’s, who clearly knew where he was going. Baekhyun led them to a cafeteria of sorts. There were two sitting areas; the one closer to the food vendors was lively with conversation, and there was another quieter one populated mostly by individuals reading. Chanyeol liked the atmosphere. He made a mental note to come back on his days with two or three hour breaks and try to get some work done while he snacked.

“Hey, I saw something weird earlier,” Chanyeol mentioned. Baekhyun looked up from his food.

“Yeah, what?”

“A guy walked by me all covered in dirt. Is there like...a reason for that?”

“Uh, he probably works in the greenhouses.”

“We have greenhouses?” Chanyeol asked.

“Of course we do.”

“I told you, I don’t hang around here,” Chanyeol said. “Anyway. He was...pretty.”

Baekhyun laughed.

“Yeah? Maybe you should pay the greenhouses a visit, huh?”

Chanyeol considered it. Maybe he could get a few colour studies in, or at least some sketches. And maybe he could find out the boy’s name.

** 

The following week saw Chanyeol in the biology and geology building for the second time in his life. He was sitting comfortably in the quieter section of the cafeteria with his back against a wall, a book open in front of him, and a cup of coffee. He hadn’t expected to be dependent on coffee when two years ago he could hardly stomach the taste, but here he was, in his third year, relying on daily caffeine to get him through his long hours on campus. Now he even enjoyed the taste.

The sound of the door swinging open in the relatively quiet room had Chanyeol looking up—and finding the pretty boy from the other day. He only had a bit of dirt this time, just on the left knee of his jeans. He didn’t notice Chanyeol watching him as he sat on the opposite end of the room. Chanyeol took this opportunity to let his eyes trail the boy.

The seat he had chosen had him almost facing Chanyeol, but his eyes were downcast; he rummaged through his backpack and Chanyeol noticed two patches sewn onto the front of the bag, but couldn’t read them from so far away. The boy pulled a red apple from his bag and brought it to his lips to take a bite. His lips were...something else. Chanyeol watched as they pressed against the apple’s skin. 

Chanyeol was legitimately staring now. He hadn’t looked away since the door opened. When the boy’s eyes suddenly met his, Chanyeol looked away immediately, the shame of being caught making the back of his neck itch. But he really couldn’t help himself. Less than a minute later his eyes darted back up to find the boy smiling to himself, munching on his apple. Chanyeol wondered if the smile was because of him.

He got very little work done over the next half hour. Every few minutes his eyes would dart over to the boy, who had pulled a heavy textbook out of his bag and begun scrawling into a notebook while he read. He kept pulling various fruits and vegetables out of his bag. Chanyeol caught his eye twice more, and both times looked away immediately, but noticed the boy’s small smile.

He left after a half hour was up. Chanyeol made sure to avert his gaze as the boy walked out; he did, however, make the decision to spend his lunch break in the same spot the following week.

**

Chanyeol didn’t wait the entire week before going back to the cafeteria. He could only handle a few days before his curiosity and his hope of seeing the pretty boy sent him back to the sitting area during one of his breaks. It was a different weekday, a different time; the boy didn’t show up. Chanyeol was disappointed, but he supposed he should have expected as much. He packed up his bag and set out for his class that started in fifteen minutes.

As Chanyeol walked down the basement hall towards the staircase, aware now of where he was going, he saw him. He was wearing another flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up along with thick yellow gloves. The kind people wore for gardening. He had dirt all over his pants. He had dirt on his  _ face _ ; a stripe across his cheekbone and one on his forehead, like he had wiped at his face without realizing his hands were dirty.

They were walking towards each other, going in opposite directions. Chanyeol stared until the boy glanced up at him—and his gaze held Chanyeol’s, who didn’t look away. The boy smiled right at him before casting his eyes back down at his feet. And then it was over. They had passed each other. Chanyeol was left alone in the hallway feeling light and giddy. 

**

From then on, Chanyeol spent more time in the biology and geology building than he ever thought he would. Sometimes he wouldn’t see greenhouse boy (which is what he’d taken to calling him in his mind). Most of the time, though, he would. Sometimes they would pass each other in the halls. On Mondays at lunchtime they would both be in the quiet sitting room. Greenhouse boy was always making notes from textbooks and eating a homemade lunch. Chanyeol was always drinking coffee and frantically reading for class. They would always make eye contact, and the boy would always smile. 

One day, several weeks after their first encounter, Chanyeol was in line for coffee when he happened, with a glance, to notice greenhouse boy standing in line behind him. He bit his lip to hide a smile. The man in front of Chanyeol in line—the only person around, other than the two of them and the one staff member—was placing a large order. They waited patiently. 

“You’re around here a lot,” the boy said suddenly, quietly. Chanyeol looked up wide-eyed. The boy’s voice was deeper than Chanyeol thought it would be, and he was smiling.

“Oh,” Chanyeol said, “Yeah! I uh. I like the quiet here. Good for reading.”

The boy nodded, and then it was silent. It seemed that was all he had to say. Chanyeol looked him over to find his jeans dirty again. He didn’t want the conversation to end there.

“You, too,” he said suddenly. “I see you here a lot. You always have dirt on your clothes.”

The boy smiled again.

“I work in the greenhouse.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol said. He tried not to let on that he already knew this.

The man in front of them in line walked away with his full bag, wishing his server a good day, and it was Chanyeol’s turn in line. He ordered his usual coffee and stepped to the side.

“I’ve never seen the greenhouse,” he piped up suddenly. “I mean, uh, I don’t know if it’s open to the public?”

“It is,” the boy said simply. Chanyeol waited for more, but it wasn’t coming. He didn’t know what to say.

The woman at the counter called Chanyeol’s order out while she placed his cup on the counter. Thanking her, Chanyeol hesitated, hovering while the boy gave a routine-sounding order to the woman. Chanyeol was about to leave when the boy turned to him.

"Do you want to come see the greenhouse?"

"Oh, really?” Chanyeol asked enthusiastically. “Yeah, that would be cool."

The boy smiled. Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat.

"You don't have class or anything?" the boy asked.

"No, not until two."

He nodded again. With his order finished he thanked the server by name, and she gave him a warm goodbye.

“Come on,” he said. “There’s a way to get there without leaving the building.”

He set off at a brisk walk. Chanyeol rushed to follow him, feeling nervous and excited.

"I'm Kyungsoo," the boy said.

"I'm Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo led him through the confusing, pieced-together building, where turning a corner meant you could find yourself in a completely different era of architecture. Chanyeol would not be able to find his way back. Kyungsoo seemed very comfortable with the silence between them, but it put Chanyeol on edge, so he asked the typical question that came up at moments like this.

“What program are you in?”

“Biodiversity and conservation,” Kyungsoo said. Chanyeol didn’t even know what that meant. He imagined it was just like majoring in plants.

“And you’re work study at the greenhouse?”

“Yeah, I am,” Kyungsoo said. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m in the arts program.”

“Arts...why would you be in this building?”

Chanyeol flushed. He did not say that he was in this building because, out of all the buildings on campus, this is the only one where he’d ever seen Kyungsoo.

“Oh, you know. I have long breaks. It’s a nice building.”

Kyungsoo hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. He was leading Chanyeol down a sloped hallway towards a set of double doors with “restricted access” printed across the glass. Chanyeol wondered about Kyungsoo telling him the greenhouses were open to the public; there was an access panel near the door, but Kyungsoo didn’t use it. He just pushed open the door easily and held it for Chanyeol.

The small intermediary room didn’t have much sense of being academic anymore, unlike the rest of the building they had just passed through. The concrete floors, dollies with stacks of boxes on them, and light layer of dirt on the floor made it feel more industrial.

“In here,” Kyungsoo said, turning the doorknob. He let Chanyeol follow him through this doorway.

Chanyeol was expecting plants, not more concrete. Although in this room there was significantly more dirt. The deep scent of soil hit Chanyeol hard, and he noticed that there were a couple plants haphazardly crowded onto a cart in the corner of the room. He also noticed that air was warm and humid. A greenhouse, though, it was not.

“Uh,” Chanyeol started, but Kyungsoo had started walking ahead of him again, so Chanyeol followed obediently. He caught a glimpse of green from a doorway up ahead, sort of around a corner—and suddenly the room opened up.

The ceilings were three times higher than the previous room, and of course they were made of panelled glass. The walls were as well, but they were almost covered with various winding tendrils of green, different plants climbing towards the sun. The flagstone floor beneath their feet was dark with water, collecting in puddles in some areas. In the center of the room was a section with tall, tropical-looking trees with giant, deep green leaves. Leafy plants filled the ground space and hanging plants created an illusion of a covered path through the room.

“Wow,” Chanyeol said softly, craning his neck to take in the room. Kyungsoo stood beside him, watching Chanyeol’s reaction, smiling. A sweet floral smell caught Chanyeol’s attention.

“Which one smells like that?” he asked foolishly. Kyungsoo laughed. It was a deep, warm sound.

“That’s the honeysuckle,” he said. He pointed to a vine to Chanyeol’s left that was overflowing with trumpet-shaped red flowers.

“Can I—can I get closer to it?” Chanyeol asked. He felt very out of his element. Kyungsoo, though—he looked like he belonged here, among the flora and the earthy smells.

“Sure, be careful you don’t fall over though. They’re pretty far back in there.”

The red flowers  _ were  _ deep into the garden, and when Chanyeol leaned forward he lost control of his balance—only a little. He quickly righted himself. But Kyungsoo had already reached out and grabbed Chanyeol’s arm to steady him. His fingers were wrapped firm around Chanyeol’s wrist. His short fingernails had dirt under them.

“Oh,” Chanyeol said, turning back to look at Kyungsoo. “Thanks. Sorry, I mean.” He laughed. “I did the only thing you told me not to do.”

When Kyungsoo took his hand away he had left a smudge of dirt on Chanyeol’s arm.

“Sorry,” Kyungsoo said, blushing lightly. It was the first time Chanyeol had seen him look anything other than confident. It was very cute.

“It’s fine. A little dirt won’t hurt me.” He gave a reassuring smile to Kyungsoo, who smiled somewhat tentatively back. After a pause, Kyungsoo seemed to collect himself.

“There’s a bench over here...if you want to finish your coffee.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

The bench was a great stone slab with elegantly curved legs. It was weathered and green with age.

“It’s been here since the greenhouse was opened, 19 th century. There used to be koi over there, too,” Kyungsoo said quietly. He pointed in the direction of a very small man-made pond. “I’m glad there isn’t anymore, though. That’s too small for them.”

Chanyeol felt his heart flutter in his chest.

“It’s beautiful in here,” he said.

It was quiet for a moment while the two of them sipped at their coffee, both smiling to themselves.

“How long have you worked here?”

“This is my third year. I started when I was a freshman.” Kyungsoo smiled softly. “I was pretty hopeless, I think, but I had great mentors. I’m the assistant here, now.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. You must spend a lot of time here, yeah? How do you get all your coursework done?”

Kyungsoo laughed.

“I don’t.”

His answer made Chanyeol laugh as well. He nodded.

“I can relate. But you’re always making notes at lunch. That must count for something.”

Chanyeol only realized how weird he had sounded after he had spoken.  He hoped Kyungsoo didn’t think it was  _ too  _ weird, that he had watched him working. He was relieved to see Kyungsoo still smiling.

“You’re always reading at lunch, too. How far does it get you?”

“Not far,” Chanyeol admitted with a laugh. He didn’t miss the implication that Kyungsoo had been watching him too.

“Well,” Kyungsoo said slowly, “if you don’t need the time to read, maybe you’d like to eat lunch with me next Monday?”

Chanyeol felt like he could barely contain the whoop of joy that threatened to make its way out of his chest. He nodded quickly.

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

Later, when he was safely out of sight (and earshot), Chanyeol  _ did  _ let out an almost uncontrollable sort of laughter in the stairwell. It startled a passing student.

**

It was Monday, and Chanyeol was waiting for Kyungsoo in the cafeteria. He was in the usual spot. In the past Kyungsoo had always arrived by this time, and Chanyeol was starting to worry about all sorts of silly things, but the silliest and most persistent idea was that Kyungsoo was going to stand him up.  _ That’s stupid _ , he told himself. Kyungsoo was too nice to pull something like that on purpose. At least, he  _ seemed  _ nice.

Chanyeol had been waiting for fifteen minutes when Kyungsoo rushed into the room. He attracted a few glances from other students for his hurried entrance and for the simple fact that he was extremely sweaty, and, as usual, covered in dirt.

The dirt was never a problem to Chanyeol, and although he had never seen Kyungsoo looking quite this sweaty, it certainly wasn’t a problem either; his eyes flicked across the sweat which caught the light on Kyungsoo’s neck and collarbone and soaked through the close-shaven sides of his hair.  

“Hey, I’m so sorry,” Kyungsoo said under his breath to Chanyeol. He took off his horn-rimmed glasses and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It left a trail of dirt. “We have the guy in to trim the tall trees, I wasn’t expecting him today, and I lost track of time. When I realized what time it was I was going to text you, but I remembered I didn’t have your number. So I ran here.”

Chanyeol bit his lip to keep his smile at bay, but it didn’t work. He started laughing. Kyungsoo made a sheepish face.

“It’s okay,” Chanyeol said, still giggling. “I’ll give you my number. You have dirt on your forehead.”

“Fuck,” Kyungsoo muttered. He went to wipe at it again with the same hand but must have realized his mistake, because he dropped his arm. “I’m so sorry, I’m just gonna go…clean up. I’ll be right back.” 

“No problem,” Chanyeol said easily. He was relieved, practically giddy with the feeling of it. Kyungsoo didn’t forget about him. Kyungsoo was so worried about getting here that he  _ ran. _

Making camp at Kyungsoo’s usual table, Chanyeol watched over Kyungsoo’s stuff while he was gone. He was close enough to read the patches on Kyungsoo’s backpack now: one proudly proclaimed “They Might Be Giants” and the other simply said “I LOVE SOIL.”  _ What a nerd,  _ Chanyeol thought with a smile.

Kyungsoo returned quickly looking significantly less sweaty and without the smudge across his forehead. He smiled brilliantly at Chanyeol, whose heart flip-flopped in his chest. They purchased their lunches and sat down across from each other.

“So,” Chanyeol asked, “how do you guys trim the trees?”

“Well, first of all we have these giant scythes, like, eight foot poles, and we kind of just swing them at small branches. Then we’ve got this pole saw cutter for bigger stuff. And sometimes we just saw off branches. But these guys were here on ladders way up near the ceiling. They won’t let me do it for liability reasons.”

“Man, that sounds like a lot of work. Kinda dangerous.”

“Sure, but I like the physical labour.”  

“You really like it at the greenhouse, huh?” Chanyeol asked with a smile. “I can tell.”

“I do, yeah.” Kyungsoo smiled too. “I’ve always been into plants, since I was little. My mom would section off part of the garden for me. I planted vegetables and flowers. When I saw the job posting I really thought it was too good to be true. It’s huge as far as experience goes, too, for my major.”

“Yeah, I bet it is.”

“How’s the art program?” Kyungsoo asked. “I’ve never met anyone from arts.”

“It’s great. I mean, I love it. It’s just, like,  _ a lot  _ of work. People don’t expect that when I tell them I’m an art major.”

“What kind of projects are you working on now?”

“I’m doing this series of illustrations that are like visualizations of some of my favourite songs,” Chanyeol said.

“Wow, that sounds so cool,” Kyungsoo said with a smile. “I don’t know if...like, it might be rude to ask, I don’t know. But I’d love to see your work.”

Chanyeol could feel the heat in his cheeks. He found himself nodding.

“You know, I’d love to sketch the greenhouse some time. I mean, if that’s allowed.”

“Yeah, of course,” Kyungsoo said quickly. “If you want, we can eat in the greenhouse next time. It’s pretty quiet around lunch time. And...you can sketch.”

“That sounds great,” Chanyeol said. He couldn’t contain his smile. Kyungsoo wanted to see him again!

When Kyungsoo’s half-hour lunch break was over they rose to say goodbye.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo said suddenly. “It’s been pretty cold lately. Is that denim jacket warm enough for you?”

Chanyeol laughed and shrugged. He gestured to his worn and patch-covered denim jacket, which was thrown over the back of the chair.

“It is, if I’m wearing a hat and scarf.”

Kyungsoo looked unconvinced. He picked Chanyeol’s woolen scarf up from where it was sitting on the table, stood on his tip-toes, and draped it loosely over Chanyeol’s shoulders. He tied the scarf in a thick knot under Chanyeol’s chin.

“Stay warm, okay?”

Chanyeol didn’t say that he was quite warm enough from the blush Kyungsoo had incited. He nodded and grinned and waved goodbye to Kyungsoo, promising to text him.

**

Chanyeol’s assignments hit him hard that week. Thinking about seeing Kyungsoo on Monday kept him pushing through—that, and coffee. He stayed up late three nights in a row struggling to finish assignments for his classes, hunched over his tablet and pushing his glasses up on his nose, and so he showed up to the greenhouse frazzled and with the wide, dark-circled eyes of someone who had been working and worrying far too much.

“I’ve been crazy busy suddenly. It always sneaks up on me, you know. I finish something and I think I have time to breathe, and then the next assignment is already on top of me.”

“I know what you mean,” Kyungsoo said softly, nodding.

They had just sat down on the bench in the greenhouse; Chanyeol could hear the birds calling from here, and the sun streamed through the glass. It was warm, but not hot. It was a nice contrast to the cold weather outside. The hibiscuses were blooming in loud pinks and oranges. Chanyeol was looking forward to sketching them, but for now he had his coffee and a donut in hand.

“Have you been eating well?” Kyungsoo asked, eyeing the donut. Chanyeol was surprised but flattered at the concern.

“No,” he said truthfully. “I haven’t had time.”

This seemed to pain Kyungsoo, who reached into his bag and pulled out a thermos.

“Here,” Kyungsoo said, unscrewing the lid and pouring steaming liquid into it. He offered the lid to Chanyeol. “I made this. It’s soup.”

“You made it? Wow...”

“I’ve got vegetables too,” Kyungsoo said, pulling out various containers from his bag. Chopped carrots, broccoli, and bell peppers.

“Oh my god,” Chanyeol said. “You’re amazing.”

Kyungsoo laughed a deep laugh.

“Eat.”

The two of them shared the food, taking turns sipping from the thermos lid. The soup was delicious. Chanyeol imagined he could feel his body crying for joy as it encountered nutrients for the first time all week, and he felt taken care of. When he finished eating Chanyeol pulled out his sketchbook and a small set of coloured pencils with his eye on a group of hibiscus flowers. 

“Can I look through it?” Kyungsoo asked suddenly.

“Oh, um, sure,” Chanyeol said. He handed the book over to Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol was proud of his sketches—some were pretty messy, but he kept even the ones he didn’t like, because it reminded him that he was improving. Still, it was a very personal thing, to have somebody else looking through his work. He watched Kyungsoo page through the book, smiling to himself and making small comments, and in the end Chanyeol was almost pink enough to match his dyed hair. When Kyungsoo smiled Chanyeol wanted to kiss him. But he wouldn’t.

Chanyeol didn’t get any sketching done that day. He was too busy talking to Kyungsoo, answering his questions about the sketchbook, about his art in general, and about how he had been drawing since he was little. When the two rose to part Chanyeol blurted out the question that he’d been trying to get out for ten minutes.

“Do you want to go out with me on Friday?”

“Oh, I’m sorry—” Kyungsoo started, and Chanyeol’s heart sank. But Kyungsoo continued with a small laugh: “I already have plans. I’m...I’m playing dungeons and dragons with my friends. But I’d really like to, um, go out with you. Hey, if you want, you could come join our group for a session.”

“Oh!” Chanyeol said, feeling relief flood his system. “I’ve never played D&D before.”

“That’s okay. It’s no big deal. Our group is kind of casual.”

“I don’t know how to make a—um, player.”

“I can show you, if you want.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol said, smiling. “I’d like that.”

**

By Friday night Kyungsoo had explained the basics of the game to Chanyeol and helped him create his character. He was playing an orc druid; he had chosen the race because he thought it sounded cool, and had chosen the class to impress Kyungsoo with his nature-magic. Kyungsoo liked plants, and Chanyeol liked Kyungsoo.   

Chanyeol had spent too long deciding what to wear. “Kind of casual” was how Kyungsoo had described the group, and Chanyeol didn’t know what exactly that meant. He had decided on his usual light wash jeans and a t-shirt with art by a local artist screen printed on it.

Fear gripped his heart when he knocked on the door to the house whose address he’d been given and a man in a cape answered. It wasn’t one of those five dollar Halloween costume capes, either; it was made of heavy brown fabric with a bronze clasp at the front. Kyungsoo had not said this was a  _ cape  _ kind of event. The man smiled.

“You must be Chanyeol,” he said, and Chanyeol nodded foolishly.

“Oh, hey,” Kyungsoo said, appearing behind the cape guy. Chanyeol was relieved to find Kyungsoo wearing some khakis and a black t-shirt. No cape in sight.

“This is Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo continued. “He’s our dungeon master.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Junmyeon said with an elaborate bow. Chanyeol stifled a laugh.

“Charmed.”

“Come on,” Kyungsoo said. “Come meet the other guys.”

Chanyeol followed Kyungsoo and Junmyeon down a set of stairs into a wood panelled basement that looked like nothing in it had been touched or changed since the eighties. Chanyeol knew that Kyungsoo lived with his mother, and there were things scattered around the room to testify that Kyungsoo had grown up in this basement—for example, the worn plush lizard sitting comfortably on the slouchy couch.  The way Kyungsoo’s friends took up space so comfortably testified that they had also grown up in the house.

The “other guys” were two boys; one lanky with dyed ginger hair, and the other compact with a single silver hoop earring. They introduced themselves as Sehun and Yixing respectively. Neither was wearing capes. It seemed like Junmyeon was the one out of place, not Chanyeol.

“He gets really into the game,” Kyungsoo said under his breath, gesturing with a nod to Junmyeon. Chanyeol smiled.

The five boys set up around a wooden dining table. Chanyeol rushed to sit beside Kyungsoo, hanging his denim jacket on the back of his chair, and Kyungsoo smiled to himself. Junmyeon picked up where he had left off in his campaign. He and Kyungsoo explained important back-story to catch Chanyeol up to speed, and introduced him to the others’ characters: Kyungsoo was a halfling wizard. Yixing was a dragonborn knight. Sehun was a human thief who, as Chanyeol quickly found out, was only playing to support Junmyeon and so consistently fucked up the game because he didn’t know or care what he was doing.

It was a bit confusing at first, but as long as Chanyeol rolled the dice when he was told he found that he could keep up. Junmyeon turned out to be an impressive storyteller and Chanyeol found himself totally absorbed in their adventure, even when Junmyeon put on voices for each of the NPCs and was clearly embarrassed to be doing it. Their party worked their way through a dungeon—they were looking for an enchanted mirror, Junmyeon said—and when Kyungsoo took down a monster with an impressive roll Chanyeol gave him a congratulatory pat on the back (and his hand might have lingered just a bit). 

The game was only interrupted once by Kyungsoo’s mom descending the stairs with a tray full of vegetables. When she spotted Chanyeol she smiled wide and hurried to introduce herself, informing Chanyeol that she had heard so much about him already. Chanyeol shot an amused look at Kyungsoo, who was blushing.

“Thank god for your mom, Kyungsoo,” Sehun said quietly as she disappeared up the stairs. “I think this is the first time I’ve had a vegetable since...the last time I was here.”

“Man, you and Junmyeon need some cooking lessons,” Kyungsoo said.

“Hey, I made him dinner once,” Sehun replied. A dark look came over Junmyeon’s face.

“Let’s not talk about that.”

Chanyeol found out that Junmyeon was majoring in creative writing, which would explain his skills with worldbuilding. He was especially interested in Chanyeol’s major and asked all sorts of questions about his art. Yixing was in the health science program with a goal of earning his degree in nursing. Sehun was taking some time off after graduating high school and was happily employed at a pet store. He even leaned over the table to show Chanyeol a picture of his own dog Vivi, a fluffy little Bichon. 

“Just so you know,” Sehun said, “we’ve got lots of embarrassing stories about Kyungsoo.”

“But we’re on our best behaviour,” Yixing said matter-of-factly.

Kyungsoo reached across the table to smack Sehun on the arm. Chanyeol laughed, and definitely looked forward to hearing stories about young Kyungsoo. 

By the end of the night they had completed their objective and received the enchanted mirror, and Chanyeol had even helped. He could see himself getting  _ very  _ into this game. He was already thinking about how he would draw their party members. Kyungsoo assured him there was a place for him in their party if he wanted to join next time, and Chanyeol was quick to agree.

The five of them crowded around the front door while everyone bundled up in their hats and scarves. Junmyeon wore a puffy winter coat underneath his cape, which was an interesting look. He certainly didn’t mind what others thought about his style. Kyungsoo hugged each of them goodbye. Yixing gathered Chanyeol into a hug as well, giving him a small pat on the butt as a farewell before heading out to his car. Sehun and Junmyeon would be walking to the closest bus stop. 

“See you!” Junmyeon said enthusiastically, waving at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. He reached for Sehun’s hand and held it tight as the two of them walked down the driveway.

“They’re sweet,” Chanyeol said with a smile, watching their backs disappear down the street. Kyungsoo looked proud.

“Sehun and Junmyeon have been dating for years. They’re practically common-law.”

“Does Yixing touch everyone’s butt?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Okay, just wanted to make sure,” Chanyeol said, and Kyungsoo laughed softly.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo said suddenly, “do you want to come up to my room? There’s somebody I want you to meet.”

“Oh, um, yeah!” Chanyeol said, a bit confused.

“This way,” Kyungsoo said, leading Chanyeol up the stairs and into a narrow carpeted hallway. Kyungsoo pushed open a door on the left to reveal a neat room with a large desk in the corner, atop which was a glass tank. Its heat lamp cast a dim yellow glow over the otherwise dark room.

“This is Frederick,” Kyungsoo said, approaching the tank and pointing to a log within it. A fat green frog sat happily on the log.

“Oh! He’s beautiful!”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo said proudly. “He’s an Australian green tree frog, and he’s three years old.”

Chanyeol leaned down to look at Frederick up close through the glass. He had his front feet tucked under him and blinked slowly. Chanyeol loved him.

“I’ve always wanted to get an amphibian or a reptile,” Chanyeol said, “but my mom says they’re creepy, which is totally unfair. I mean, look at Frederick. He’s smiling at me.”

Chanyeol glanced over at Kyungsoo and found him smiling as well, his eyes crinkly and his teeth showing. Chanyeol returned his smile and straightened up, turning towards Kyungsoo, who worried his bottom lip briefly before reaching out to gently grab Chanyeol’s wrist. It was the same spot he had placed his hand three weeks ago when Chanyeol had almost fallen in the greenhouse. 

He pulled Chanyeol so gently towards him that Chanyeol almost didn’t realize he was pulling. Chanyeol shuffled closer and looked down into Kyungsoo’s big, pretty eyes—god, he was pretty, and so sweet, and funny, and he was putting a hand on Chanyeol’s left cheek and leading Chanyeol down to his lips. Just before their lips touched their glasses clacked together. Kyungsoo pulled back quickly and apologized, but Chanyeol simply reached up to take off his own glasses and leaned in again, finally pressing their lips together. 

Chanyeol brought his hands to Kyungsoo’s hips to pull him closer. Kyungsoo was warm and solid, and he twined his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, reaching on his tip-toes to deepen the kiss. A faint earthy smell clung to his skin. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist and held him tight. 

They were interrupted by the loud sound of croaking coming from Frederick’s tank. Chanyeol couldn’t help but laugh into their kiss, just a bit, but Kyungsoo was laughing soon after and pulled away. He glanced over to the tank. 

“Shh, Frederick,” he said softly. Frederick’s vocal sac swelled and he continued to croak. 

“I think that means he approves,” Chanyeol said, looking down at Kyungsoo, who met his eyes. 

“I think it means he’s looking for a mate,” he replied with a smile. 

“I think...can I kiss you again?” 

“Yes, please” Kyungsoo replied quietly, and when his eyes fluttered shut Chanyeol gravitated towards him like a flower turning to face the sun. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Just a little one. thank u ash i love you!


End file.
